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::Sigh:: The Problem with clean art Rant.
18 years ago
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Welcome to Balto's Journal
You know I thought I'd never regret being a G rated artist but I must say it's sorta frustrating drawing cute nice clean art. I'm amazed how much every one loves the clean cute art it but no one ever seems to want to see that kind of stuff at conventions or Art shows. except for a few. It's always the porn or to more human looking antho stuff that always seems to be what everyone wants. I've just never got into the too human looking antho stuff nor the porn. Call me old fashion but I prefer the traditional cartoon style. I guess thats why my influences are people like Chuck Jones and Don Bluth.
I suppose It's nice to know that there are people out there that do like the clean stuff but it seems like in furry those are few and far in between. Lately I've just been pondering if Furry is for me or not. I've done fine outside of Furry, but to be honest what drew me in was, that I noticed most of the people that did enjoyed my art were also furries but having looked behind the curtain I wonder if this is something I want to continue doing or if I am better off persuing NON Furry venues. That still has yet to be seen. For now I'm still here.
Now don't get me wrong, I have been doing much better since my first furry con and I think FA has really helped in getting my art out there,. it's just that lately its been really frustrating seeing people prefer the porn and getting passed up because Im not "furry enough", Sometimes some of the art people want really worries me, and makes me wonder what people are really after when they commission art, It's always interesting to watch peoples reaction to receiving their commission, some are truly please while others sometimes give me this look like they were expecting me to draw porn. I don't think I've made it a secret that I draw clean stuff and most people can tell that by looking at the stuff on my table at cons. I guess there must be something wrong with me.
There are other things that bother me about furry art but I suppose it would be very naive of me to think everyone saw "furry" the same way I do so, I will reserve my opinion there. To each his own no? Anyhow, I guess I'll just never get it I suppose. I do appreciate those of you who have supported me. It's encouraging to know there are some people who do like the nice side of Furry.
I suppose It's nice to know that there are people out there that do like the clean stuff but it seems like in furry those are few and far in between. Lately I've just been pondering if Furry is for me or not. I've done fine outside of Furry, but to be honest what drew me in was, that I noticed most of the people that did enjoyed my art were also furries but having looked behind the curtain I wonder if this is something I want to continue doing or if I am better off persuing NON Furry venues. That still has yet to be seen. For now I'm still here.
Now don't get me wrong, I have been doing much better since my first furry con and I think FA has really helped in getting my art out there,. it's just that lately its been really frustrating seeing people prefer the porn and getting passed up because Im not "furry enough", Sometimes some of the art people want really worries me, and makes me wonder what people are really after when they commission art, It's always interesting to watch peoples reaction to receiving their commission, some are truly please while others sometimes give me this look like they were expecting me to draw porn. I don't think I've made it a secret that I draw clean stuff and most people can tell that by looking at the stuff on my table at cons. I guess there must be something wrong with me.
There are other things that bother me about furry art but I suppose it would be very naive of me to think everyone saw "furry" the same way I do so, I will reserve my opinion there. To each his own no? Anyhow, I guess I'll just never get it I suppose. I do appreciate those of you who have supported me. It's encouraging to know there are some people who do like the nice side of Furry.
But I don't think i'd ever do a porn commish.
On another note i've never been to a con, none close enough for me to get to one.
And.. look how many comissions you got at FC!
On a side note, Keep up the good work Foxer you're one of the people who's on the top of my list of people who's art I admire. :) You're art always makes me smile. Still planning to go to the PS this next weekend? (2nd weekend right?) I would also be willing to meet you some place else if you want. I will also have Mr Mitch DLG with me. I was so sad that I missed you on the Saturday of the FC con. :( The Art show ending distracted me. *whine*whine*whine*
Oh, man, I know how you feel. But you gotta keep true to yourself, and draw what you enjoy drawing. If you draw what you think other people want you to draw (or what they ask you to draw, when it's not something your comfortable with) will just make you draw poorly artistically and drain the life and enthusiasm outta ya.
And I know it's frustrating to watch other artists willing to draw the pronz and making bank doing it, and good for them. But look at it this way: When you draw clean or mostly clean art, you know that you've really EARNED all your fans and all your commissions and requests. They're coming to you because they really like your art or some quality about your art, and not because you've made the easy sale.
As for the question of "furry or not furry" ... I've always been of the mind that you're only as furry or as involved in furry fandom if you want to be. Yeah, it's frustrating after first finding this big group of people who seem to share your interest, when finding that it's really splintered into so many factions and subgroups that you still feel like an outsider sometimes. But when it comes down to it there's still a few really cool people and probably a few that have interests in line with your own enough that maybe it's worth hanging around for awhile. And if you're sensible about it spending some time in furry fandom doesn't preclude living in the mundane, mainstream world or visiting other fandoms at the same time.
Good luck and stout heart!
-cooner
I was happy to meet you at FC (I was the guy that commented on your new FA Icon) I think you are correct. I think its more my perception of furry that needs to be re-evaluated. I guess I just my be in denial on somethings. I do appreciate the encouraging words and I will try and keep that in mind. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this. You guys have been very kind. its helped me cope with how I've been feeling, Thank you.
1. Yeah there are a LOT of porn hounds at cons, but something else to think about: The porn hounds are also generally more inclined to ask for commissions than those of us who like clean art. I know many people who like nice clean art, but because of this they are also less inclined to ask for a commission and just look through what is already available.
2. I don't know why/when people who just draw or enjoy cartoony stuff got labeled as not being furry enough. I guess you need to look like a human (complete with genitalia) with an animal nose, ears, and tail to be a real furry? Gimme a break. Like Foxer said, cartoons are what brought most of us here.
I have seriously (no offense) seen artists who really aren't that great at all....but draw porn and have more watchers than some of the greatest clean art artists here on FA.
But anyway....just thought I'd let you know I understand and feel the same frustration.
I think that the reason yiffy artists usually get more favs and popularity than clean ones is because there's already great clean art out there over decades that we all furries grew up with: disney, some anime, don bluth, warner, dreamworks. I mean, clean art is no big deal for most of people. I don't see it like that. Whenever I see someone who should deserve who work in some big studio like you because your art is of that level, I can't help but to favorite, watch and follow that artist's development.
On the other paw, I like yiff. I prefer to see a yiffy drawing than a porn picture. I mean, I'm a human male, but in art you can do more stuff and live more fantasies than what you can do in a real photograph or video. And if the pic is hot, and in addition, it's cute and features the kind of characters I love, then I'm loooooots more flexible about the quality of the picture itself. It turns me on? I fav it. There's a lot of ways of making art.
So what prolly happens with you and other clean artists is that you're direct competition to the already existing stuff out there. I mean, if you can't make a clean Robin Hood that is cuter than the original Robin Hood from Disney, then why even post it? People will say 'yeah, nice' with a small mouth, but if you make a better Robin Hood than the original, you will attract those people who are here not only for the yiff, but looking for anonymous talented artists, with the plus that you can comment on their drawings, interact with them... in short, you can kinda 'touch' an, in other circumstances, 'untouchable' artist like Andreas Deja or Ollie Johnson.
But if you draw a Robin Hood that is showing all of his male attributes, then the viewer's attention span goes to that spot. You forget about the rest of the anatomy, the face, etc, and you focus on the action or on the attributes themselves. Then it's more about the drawing's idea than the drawing's quality. Sometimes it's a mixture of both (like in the case of Blotch or Adam Wan), but most of times it's just that the artist has their mind in the gutter and come up with ideas to draw that fits a big part of the furry fandom.
Being furry is not just liking anthropomorphic creatures, it's 'almost' feeling like one, or wishing the world were full of them so you could be one. And if you'd like to be like your fursona (in my case, a cheetah), and I'm a male with my mind in the gutter most of times, then I guess it makes sense that I enjoy seeing cheetahs drawn and not just in clean art. Also, if I like The Lion King the way I do and I've seen the movie more than 100 times (no exagerating), then I got an obsession and I've picture certain stuff in my mind many times, and seeing it made a picture of it makes its artist feel like an equal for me.
So, in short (since this was long enough :D), furry fandom would be just a bunch of pervs if there wasn't good-quality clean artists, and it'd be just like a bunch of wanna-be animators if there wasn't any yiffy pictures. Being furry is something else. It doesn't matter if you like yiff or not, if you draw it or not, you belong to the community if you're ready to accept those who are not your same 'species', your same sexual orientation or your same g or x rated preferences por pictures. We're (or at least, should be), the most open community in earth in that sense.